Ratchet mechanism



Patented Oct. 28, 19.24;. y

- lUNIT'1511 sjTAri-:s

PA'rllii'rf.A oFF-ICE;

HOWARD e. ALLEN, on NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, AssiGNo'nro ninna. It..Monm- SON fiorini-Arne INC., or NIAGARA-FALLS, NEW YORK, 1A CORPORATIONor NEW 'YORK.

.RATOHET MEoH-ANISM;

Appiication mea January 13, 1923. serial No. 612,511.

To all whom t may concern;

Be it yknown that I, HOWARD G. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Niagara' Falls, inthe county of Niagara and yState'of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ratchet Mechanism, ofwhich the rfollowing is a specifica,- tion.

This invention relates to a ratchet mechanism of that type in, whichthemotion is transmitted from the drivingmember 'to the driven member byfrictional engagement of the rolling clutch members Awith the' drivingand driven members. f f l It is the purpose of this invention to providean improved form of ratchet mechanism of this character which is strong,du,- rable and simple in construction, positive and reliable in itsaction, and capable ofbeing readily assembled and dismembered forinspection or replacement. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is afront elevation, partly broken away, of a ratchet mechanism embodying myimprovements. Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2-l-2,Fig. l. Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 3 3,Fig. 2.k Figure 4 is a front elevation showing a suitable means foroperating the ratchet mechanism.` Figure 5 is a' fragmentary section, onan'enlarged scale, taken on line 541-5, Fig. 4,

Similar characters of reference 'refer to like parts throughout theseveral views.

This ratchet mechanism maybe utilized for various purposes, but inA thisinstance the same'` is shown in connection with the wire feedmechanismof a wire stitching machine whichfcomprises two feed rollers .16,

23, between which the vopposing peripheral surfaces of the wire 2 6 tobe fed is gripped andfada'pted to beadvanced at intervals to'.

the mechanism which cuts the wire into suitable lengths for formingstaples and driv? ing 'the same through the parts .Which arey to be4stitched together.` AThese feedrollersv are securedrespectively,to gearwheels 18 and 24 by'means of rivets '17,which gear Wheels intermesh forcausing they feed roll# ers to turn'in unison, and are 'respectivelyarranged at the rear endsof shafts l1 and 25 which may be 'journaled forrotation in any suitable bearings on the machine of whichthey'form apart.

One of these shafts,y for example, the i shaft 1l, constitutes thedriven v.shaft to which van intermittent rotary motion isvimpartedfrom asuitable source by the ratch-` et mechanism constructed in accordancewith my invention which in its preferred embodiprovided with a reducedportiony orneckr` 40 ,forming a forwardly facing shoulderyllh4 On thisneck is mountedv a driven circularI spider orv hub 2, the periphery ofwhich is provided with one or more recesses 4, preferably siX, `as shownin Fig. l, 'each of which has its bottom 42 inclined circumferentiallyand at an Vangle to a radial line from the aXis'of the spider.y A i 'lSurrounding this spider'or hub is a driving ring or rim l which closesthe outer sides of the several recesses and forms with each of these apocket having inner and outer walls which converge forwardlycirlcumferentially of` the spider and ring.` In each of these'pockets isarranged` a rolling friction ,clutch member `v`which in the preferredconstruction has the form of a roller whichhas a Llength equaltothewidth-,of the spider 'andring and such a diameter that its inner andouter sidesyengage krespectively with the inner and outer walls of. therespec-v in'gplates rvor disks 6. and 7 arranged on thev front and rearsides of the spider yandrin so .as to cover` the sides of the pockets analsoprevent .lateral displacement ofthe ringy on .thespideny ipreferably positively interlocked so vas to The spider and rearretaining vplate aref St] I .plates 6 and flare secured to the spiderbyscrews 27.` These plates and the spiderare pressed together and therear plate is pressed against the shoulder 41, by means fof' aclampingdisk 9 engaging the outer side of the front plate 6 andconnected with front" end of thekdrirenk shaft 11 by means of a screw10. v -y Upon turning the driving ring forwardly the several clutchmembers are movedtoward lthe narrow ends of the 'pockets' and v grip orwedge betweenouter and inner Walls ofthe pockets; on the ring andspider'`and thereby cause the same to'be coupled and compelthem to turntogether. Upon turning the driving "ring backwardly,vthe` clutch membersare moved-backwardly ytoward the wide ends of the pockets sufficientlyrto release` the grip of the clutch members on the ring and spider,thereby permitting the ring to move backwardly lindependently of thespider; By thus oscillating the ring, an intermittent forward rotarymovement of the spider is obtained,1the steps as to length lbeingdetermined by thev length of the arc throughV which the ring is movedback and forth, and thus determines the length of wire which is fedduring each cycle of operations of the feed mechanism.k

The thickness or width of the kring* is slightly less than that of thespider so as to avoid any gripping action of th'ejretaining plates onthe ring' and permit the latter to turn yfreely independently of thespider. y

` The oscillating movement of the ring is ypreferablyeffectedby meanswhich comprise a rock arm 12 pivotally mounted on the shaft 11immediately in rear of the rear retaining *plate fand providedintermediate of its ends with a forwardly projecting'pin 13 whichengages-with a radial groove 14 formed on the rear side of the drivingring.

By this means a driving connection is provided between'the rock'arm 12and the driving ringv which compels these members to turn together 'yetpermits a slight eccentricity in the relative'mounting ofthe ringandarmfwithou'tliability of cramping'the parts; Y

Various means may be employed for im'- parting a vibratory motion to therock arm,` those shown in the drawings comprisinga rotary crankdisk or4driving| wheelr19 mounted on'the driving shaft 30 and pro-I videdon itsyfront side with vay radialslot 20 which is T-shaped in cross section, avconnectingllink rod or bar 22ipivotally con@v with the driving disk inwhich position of the parts no motion would be transmitted from thelatter to the feed rollers, but upon adjusting the bolt 21 to differentpositions in the lslot 20 between the axis and periphery of the' drivingwheel, the length ofthe feeding actionof the. roller` is variedvvaocordingly.

y The mannervof' mountingll the ring Onfthe on the periphery ofthespider noty only simplifies the construction and reduces the cost butalso lresults inthe production ofihigh class work. A further advantagein transmitting motion from the rock arm to thedrivingV ring is thatthe', ring is free to slide onthe Y spider withoutliability rofbinding,` inasmuch as the pin13 merely engages the sides of the groove14 and is free toslide,v and if necessary turn slightly therein inorder'tto adapt itself to the varving positionsof the parts.y Moreover5this ratchet nfiechanisrnv 'as a whole forms a complete unit which is adesirable feature becausethel same while-V completely assembled can ,beplaced on a machine instead of necessitating assembling its severalparts while the machine itself is being assembled. y It' isfthuslpossible, to quickly removerthe entire ratchet meclianism and replacethe same by a new yoneby simply removing Ythe disk vor washer9 and thescrew'lO. Y e n Obviously balls may be substituted for the rollers V3'.i Y

I claim as my invention;4 y

1. A` ratchet mechanism. comprisinga shaft, having a reduced end forminga shoulder, a spider arranged onthe reduced part of said shaftandprovided in yits bore with a notch and in'its y of recesses, each ofwhich hasy its bottom forming an inner wall which is inclined to aperiphery with a plurality radial line from theaxis ofsaid'spider, aring p surrounding the periphery of said spider and closing the outersides of said recessesso l vasto form therewith pockets each of vwhichhas its inner and louterfwall converging circumferentially,v

frontend rear` plates mountedy on they re-y duced part of lsaid shaft onkopposite sidesof shaft havingra reduced` end forming a. shoulaplurality of :rolling members,Y one arranged ineach ofsaid pookets,.

der, a spider arranged on the reduced part of said shaft and provided inits bore with a notch and in its periphery with a plurality of recesses,each of which has its bottom forming an inner wall which is inclined toa radial line from the axis of said spider, a ring surrounding theperiphery of said spider and closing the outer sides of said recesses soas to form therewith pockets, each of which hasl its inner and outerWall converging circumferentially, a plurality of rolling members, onearranged in each of said pockets, front and rear plates mounted on thereduced part of said shafton op osite sides of said spider, said rearplate eing ,provided with a notch in its inner edge, a key arranged onsaid shaft and engaging the notches of said spider and rear plate, and adisk secured to the front end of said shaft and engaging the outer sideof said front plate.

3. A ratchet mechanism comprising a shaft having a reduced end forming ashoulder, a spider arranged on the reduced part of said shaft andprovided in its bore with a notch and in its periphery With a pluralityof recesses each of which has its bottom forming an inner Wall Which isinclined to a radial line from the axis of said spider, a ringsurrounding the periphery of said spider and closing the outer sides ofsaid recesses so as to form therewith pockets, each of which has itsinner and outer Wall converging circumferentially, a plurality ofrolling members, one arranged in each of said pockets, front and rearplates mounted on the reduced part of said shaft on opposite sides ofsaid spider, said rear plate being provided with a notch in its inneredge, a key arranged on said shaft and engaging the notches of saidspider and rear plate, and

screws connecting said front plate with said spider.

4. A ratchet mechanism comprising a shaft having areduced end forming ashoulder, a spider arranged on the reduced part of said shaft andprovided in its bore with a notch and in its periphery with a pluralityof recesses each of which has its bottomA forming an inner Wall which isinclined to a radial line from the axis of said spider, a ringysurrounding the periphery of said spider and closing the outer sides ofsaid recesses so as to form therewith pockets each of which has itsinner and outer Wall converging `circumferentially, a plurality ofrolling members, one arranged in each of said pockets, front and rearplates mounted on the reduced part of said shaft on opposite sides ofsaid spider, said rear plate being provided with a notch in its inneredge, a key arranged on said shaft and engaging the notches of saidspider and rear plate, a disk secured to the front end of. said shaftand engaging the outer side of said frontplate, and screws connectingsaid plates and spider, i

5. A ratchet mechanism comprising a shaft, a spider mounted on saidshaft and provided in its periphery with a recess, the bottom of whichforms an inner Wall which is inclined to a radial line from the axis ofsaid spider, a ring surrounding said spider and closing said recess toform a pocket thel inner and outer Walls of which convergecircumferentially, a rolling member arrangedv in said recess andengaging the inner and outer Walls thereof, said ring being providedWith a radial groove, and a rocker arm journaled on said shaft andprovided with a pin engaging with said groove. n

HOWARD G. ALLEN.

